WebVisions goes global

The annual conference — which examines the future of the Web, with topics such as applications, open source, social media and blogging — is expanding across the country.

The Portland-based conference recently held an event outside of Portland — in Atlanta — for the first time. It next hits New York in January, returns to Portland in May, followed by visits to Barcelona in July and Chicago in October.

WebVisions began in Portland in 2001 as the brainchild of Brad Smith, owner of Southeast Portland Web, print and film design company Hot Pepper Studios. In its 10-year run, WebVisions has become a go-to event for Web and mobile developers eager to spot future trends.

WebVisions is a headline event for Hot Pepper, but is not its bread and butter. Smith aims to break even on registration fee and sponsorships. Hot Pepper Studios remains focused on its core business: Publishing, consulting and film.

Its “Bike There!” series of books and maps for Metro, the regional government agency, is a best-seller at Powell’s Books.

“We’re not looking for the event to become its own business,” he said.

Smith and Hot Pepper Studios inaugurated WebVisions almost on a whim.

The conference began when Smith and a photographer friend, Jeff Hiller, decided to put on a conference. Jeff Zeldman, dubbed the “King of Web Standards” by Business Week, agreed to come discuss the future of the Web.

Smith likened it to inviting the smartest people he knew to discuss the Web in the living room. It worked — about 130 people showed up.

Hooked on the idea of bringing Web and mobile developers together, Smith repeated the program a year later. There were more speakers and more participants and it was held at Portland State University.

By 2010, WebVisions had evolved into a free-flowing exchange attracting about 1,100 to the Oregon Convention Center.

For the 2012 Portland program, WebVisions has lined up Nathan Shedroff, who created one of the first Web service firms; Nate Bolt, creator of Ethnio, a Web app used to recruit research participants; Justin Garrity, director of user experience at Portland’s Webtrends; and Jason Grigsby, a mobile Web strategist and co-founder of CloudFour.com and Mobile Portland.com.

Tech-oriented conferences have bucked a national decline in recent years. U.S. Census Bureau data indicate the 2010 convention and trade show industry fell to 2007 levels. WebVisions’ popularity doesn’t surprise Jeff Miller, president of Travel Portland, which promotes the Rose City to tourists and meeting organizers.

Technology changes so fast that meetings and conferences such as WebVisions are key to keeping up and that drives growth.

Smith attributes the success in Portland to the “amazing talent” that lives here and the city’s appeal to both tourists and Web developers.

“There is an open source community approach that is very unique,” he said.

After its modest debut in Atlanta, WebVisions is organizing for its most ambitious undertaking yet: New York City.

Smith, who expects about 300 participants for the Jan. 18-20 event, created a three-day schedule that includes a premier of the IFC TV series “Portlandia.” Co-creators and stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein will discuss the story behind the series that lampoons Portland culture.

The program includes more traditional fare as well, covering Web research, game development and other hot topics.

Smith said WebVisions selected the new cities based on its own Web traffic.

Organizers drew “big circles” around the physical locations of their visitors and identified the cities they would most likely be willing to visit.

Barcelona was an easy choice, Smith said. The Spanish city is connected, embraces technology and is popular with travelers.

If all goes well in New York and beyond, WebVisions will take its Portland mix of Web development and in-person networking to more U.S. cities and abroad, with Prague and Sydney high on its list of candidates.

Fast Facts

It costs $450 to register for the New York conference and $350 for Portland. Sponsors include Extensis, Adobe, Microsoft, WebInk, Webtrends and Planar Systems Inc.